Malaysia’s IPI up 6.7 per cent in February 2014

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) grew by 6.7 per cent in February 2014 compared with the same month a year ago, the Statistics Department said yesterday.

“The increase was due to the higher growth in the manufacturing and electricity indexes by 9.8 per cent and 8.7 per cent, respectively,” the department said in its February 2014 Index of Industrial Production report released yesterday.

It said the mining index recorded a negative growth of 1.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the IPI in January 2014 has been revised positive 3.5 per cent year-on-year, it said.

The department said in seasonally-adjusted terms, the IPI in February 2014 rose by 2.9 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m) due to the increases in the manufacturing and electricity indexes of 3.7 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively.

On a yearly basis, the manufacturing output improved by 9.8 per cent in February 2014.

The sub-sectors which registered higher output gains in February 2014 were electrical and electronics products ( 16.4 per cent); transport equipment and other manufactures (52.5 per cent); and, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (four per cent).

On a seasonally-adjusted m-o-m basis, manufacturing output rose by 3.7 per cent in February 2014.

The output for the mining sector however fell by 1.4 per cent in February 2014 as compared to the same month in 2013 due to the decrease in crude oil index of 3.1 per cent. Meanwhile, natural gas index increased by 0.4 per cent. Compared with January 2014, the seasonally-adjusted output for the mining sector fell by 1.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the electricity output increased 8.7 per cent in February 2014 on a yearly basis.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, electricity output rose by 4.3 per cent in February 2014 compared with the previous month. — Bernama